Paro: Small township of Paro with the only Bhutan's airport act for most tourists as gateway to the kingdom. Fortunately in the surroundings there are numerous and easy accessible places of interest. So even if you are coming for just one day on your route from Bangkok to Katmandu there is still enough to see. Along the main street you will find probably the best in country complex of traditional architecture: two lines of rich decorated buildings housing small shops, institutions and restaurants.

Thimphu: Thimpu perhaps the most unusual capital city in the world. Thimpu was established in 1955. On the bank of the river lies Tashi Chuu Dzong, the main secretariat building which houses the throne room of his majesty the king of Bhutan. The National Assembly Hall is located in new building on the opposite side of the river from the Dzong. During the warmer summer months, the monk body led by his holiness, the Je Khenpo, makes its home in the Dzong. Next to the Dzong is Bhutan's only golf course. A nine hole circuit, popular with Thimpu's residents, that offers a break from sight-seeing for visiting players.

Trongsa: In the centre of the Bhutan and four hours by drive from Wangdue Phodrang, Trongsa offers a welcome rest to travelers. The approach to the town involves a trip around Trongsa valley. The secular and religious centre, the Dzong, dominates the horizon, dwarfing the surrounding buildings. The royal family's ancestral home is Trongsa. Both his majesty king Ugyen Wangchuk, the Penlop of Trongsa, who was elected the country's first hereditary monarch, and his successor king Jigme Wangchuk, ruled the country from Trongsa's ancient Dzong.

Bumthang: The Bumthang valley lies at an altitude of 2600 metres. This valley is the religious heartland of Bhutan and home to some of the oldest Buddhist temples. Legend has it that when the Lamas assembled to decide on a site for Jakar Dzong, a big white bird rose suddenly in the air and settled on a spur of the hill and it was here that `Castle of the white bird` was built.The building itself is surrounded with an impressive wall approximately one mile in circumference, in its centre a tower soars nearly 150 feet into the air.

Punakha: Punakha is the least elevated of Bhutan's central valleys and famous for its benign climate in which fruit trees flourish within sight of the snow-crested Himalayan Mountains. The road from Simtokha winds into pine forests and through small villages for 20 Kms and then open miraculously onto the northern ridge of the mountains. The view over the Himalayas at Dorchula pass, at 10500 feet (3150m), is one of the spectacular in all Bhutan. Within sight of the alpine snows is a magnificent canvas of colour - a profusion of red, pink, white, yellow and purple rhododendron blossoms splashed amongst the soft green of wild herbs, and forest trees.